Ex-Caf officials Issa Hayatou and El Amrani to contest $55m fines

Former Confederation of African Football (Caf) president Issa Hayatou and secretary general Hicham El Amrani have been fined $27.9m each by the Egyptian Economic Court (EEC).

The EEC ruled that the pair flouted local Egyptian law when signing a billion-dollar deal between Caf and French media company Lagardere in 2015.

The deal was not open to free and fair tender as required by Egyptian law, the EEC claimed.

Issa Hayatou and El Amrani will both appeal.

“This verdict is quite grotesque and has no justification in that it constitutes a flagrant disregard for the facts of the case and for the provisions of Egyptian and international competition law,” Cameroon’s Hayatou said in a statement.

“I will naturally appeal … while reserving the right to bring the case before any other competition international court, so as to put an end to this intolerable defamation and repeated attacks on my honour.”

Issa Hayatou, who maintains the case is politically-motivated, and Morocco’s El Amrani both worked for many years for Caf, which is based in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

As such, Egyptian authorities maintain that Caf is governed by local laws.

Nonetheless, the EEC’s ruling only sanctions Issa Hayatou – who presided over Caf from 1988-2017 – and El Amrani, who also left his position last year.

“Mr El Amrani and I have, at all times, and in particular in relation to the agreement with Lagardere Sports, acted ex-officio and as mandated by the Caf Executive Committee, as evidenced by the successive deliberations and minutes,” added Hayatou’s statement.

“The decision of the Economic Court to condemn us while clearing Caf is in flagrant violation … of the Egyptian Competition Law, the individuals concerned and the entity represented being legally inseparable and jointly liable.”

The sanction relates to a contract Caf signed with Lagardere in June 2015 about the broadcast rights for African football, including coverage of the flagship Africa Cup of Nations, between 2017 and 2028.

The original complaint was filed last year by the Egyptian Competition Authority, which asked Caf to cancel its contract and reopen it for tender after asserting the deal violated local anti-monopoly laws.